We’ve all seen so many instances in which authors make a huge scene over criticism. Recently Anne Rice made a bit *cough* of a fuss when she sent her legion of Facebook Fans to a tiny blog where a virtually unknown (100 fans) blogger wrote a negative review. Predictable chaos ensued.

Last week, a new author was delighted when The Passive Voice blog picked up an article in which she gave advice. She was less pleased when the veteran indie authors who frequent The Passive Voice asked if since her first book hadn’t come out yet, was she really in any position to give advice on how to be a success? The trouble didn’t really start until she took to Twitter to rant to her followers about her treatment, saying she’d been “ripped apart”. (I’m not linking to the article or naming her simply because she’s new to publishing, and I don’t want to pile on since her feelings are clearly hurt.)

I’m not picking on this new author or even Anne Rice for their overreactions. I’m mentioning it because these are just two examples of thin-skinned writers I’ve seen making a public fuss over criticism in the past week.

Even the best writers (and that’s clearly a subjective list) get bad reviews, and we all make social boo-boos from time to time. Anyone who speaks in public risks offending folks. Anne R. Allen wrote a fantastic article this week on the mob mentality that can happen on social media. She talked about not only being the victim of “Twitchforks” (I love that phrase!), but also how to be socially responsible as public figures and not send our fans / tribe / street team out on a crusade on our behalf. In her article, Anne reminded us of Joe Konrath’s advice: “The Internet is forever. Things you say will always be there to come back and bite you.” And then she added: “And they WILL bite you. Especially if you—

Participate in snark attacks or throw “Twitchforks”

Denigrate the review process with fake 1&2 star “reviews”

Spread unsubstantiated, harmful rumors

Sabotage a fellow author’s livelihood

Threaten a person’s life and/or family

Make personal attacks on reviewers

That initial rush of smug rage will subside. You’ll be left with nothing but a damaged reputation and digital egg on your face.”

And here’s what I understand after doing this a little while:

Thick Skin is a Myth

So here’s the advice I’d like to add to the conversation: Don’t be alarmed or disappointed if you have thin skin when someone says something negative about your work, your advice, or worse still, if they take a more personal road and say negative things about you.

I say don’t be alarmed because on top of the shock of negativity coming our way, we authors are so often told we should be thick skinned! If I had a nickel for every time I saw someone tell an author or artist ignore the haters, well, I’d have a whole pocket full of nickels. And I think it’s nearly impossible advice to take, no matter the good intentions of the person saying it.

How do I deal with it? (I read reviews. I know some people don’t, but I do, even in the face of advice to ignore them.)

If someone doesn’t like my books, here are some things I try to keep in mind:

I don’t like every book I read, even some extremely popular or so-called important books. It’s not reasonable to expect everyone will like mine.

I shouldn’t give MORE weight to a 1 star review than to a 5 star review. In other words, I keep it in perspective. If ten people give my book 5 stars, but on person gives it 1 star, is it really reasonable to obsess over the one and ignore the ten?

If the person is criticising things I can change (like typos) or learn from (pacing or characterisation), I listen. If they focus on things I can’t change (like a character’s choices) or don’t agree with (like my books being too short at 75-85K words), I let it go.

I have a couple of best writer-friends and confidantes that I go to when I need to whinge. I say: “Tell me not to post about this on Facebook.” They dutifully reply, “Are you out of your mind? Do NOT post that on Facebook.” And then we have a laugh and exchange stories of how the world is so cruel. Then we get back to work and write more books.

India Drummond writes fantasy novels. She knew from age nine that writing would be her passion. Since then she’s discovered many more, but none quite so fulfilling as creating a world, a character, or a moment and watching them evolve into something complex and compelling. She has lived in three countries and four American states, is a dual British and American citizen, and currently lives at the base of the Scottish Highlands in a village so small its main attraction is a red phone box. In other words: paradise. Find out more about her and her books at her website.

India Drummond writes fantasy novels. She knew from age nine that writing would be her passion. Since then she’s discovered many more, but none quite so fulfilling as creating a world, a character, or a moment and watching them evolve into something complex and compelling. She has lived in three countries and four American states, is a dual British and American citizen, and currently lives at the base of the Scottish Highlands in a village so small its main attraction is a red phone box. In other words: paradise. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.indiadrummond.com/ .

Comments

Thanks for the props and I agree with a lot you say. I’ve grown up on the net and my own Rice-gate didn’t really upset me for that fact. I feel more for older writers who haven’t grown up on the net and recognise empty vitriol in comments. I do find that engaging with them in a polite way can knock the wind out of their sails, I even got some lovely comments from initial haters. I guess it’s not a common stance but I tried to remember that if I wanted people to remember I was a person, I had to treat them like a person too.

Indeed! I’m one of your new followers Kayleigh, and had it not been for that incident, I may not have discovered your lovely blog for some time. Kudos to you for showing restraint (I would have been foaming at the gills!) and for your exemplary response to the situation.

India, couldn’t agree more. My mantra is always ‘Grow a thick skin, AD!’ when I see a negative review, but it always hurts, doesn’t it! At the end of the day, that’s our natural human response. It’d be like somebody calling your child ‘ugly’ on the playground. Bound to bring the red mist down a tad.

Like you said, keeping things in perspective is key. One 1 star review shouldn’t take the joy of having the 4-5 star ones. Also, trying to learn from the feedback if it is constructive.

And Joe Konrath’s post had me in hysterics for a good few minutes I love that man!

Kayleigh, you make an excellent point about growing up on th net. I did not grow up on the net and your experience was enlightening. When I first started interacting electronically, I didn’t understand flame wars and trolls. I was shocked! Took years to figure out I simply needed to bow out and move on. You handled the massive tsunami of haters with class. I hope I don’t ever have to deal with such a reaction but if I do, I’ll keep your example in mind.

I read them, make mental notes of any useful observations, and move on. That’s it. I don’t make excuses; if they didn’t like it, they didn’t like it and that’s that. I don’t hang my head. And I certainly don’t respond, whether to try to cajole them into liking it or to argue with them for *not* liking it. I just get back to my writing. And I don’t understand for the life of me why writers are so sensitive when it comes to reviews…

This is a great post with very sage advice (I almost made a lame joke about oregano but I refrained!). When my first novel was published, negative reviews really bothered me. Like, I used to OBSESS over them to the point where they invaded my dreams! I’ve had some pretty personal ones and while I’m still sensitive to them, I tell myself the same things you listed above, and they don’t have the same impact.

Like you, negatives bother me a lot less than they used to. I suppose that’s one reason it surprises me so much when Anne Rice gets into things like this. You can’t get as well-known as she is without attracting some criticism, deserved or not. You’d think she’d be used to it!

Thanks, India – glad to find a link on Facebook to this great post about such a tricky subject. The best advice I was ever given about reading reviews was to ‘zip up your rhino suit’. As writers we have to stay open, but learn to let bad and good reviews bounce off. Easier said than done

Rhino suit! Love that.. a perfect way to describe how to pull on a thick skin when needed. But yes, you’re right… easier said than done, as evidenced by the many examples we see of authors getting into trouble for reacting publicly. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

Still being a relative newbie to the publishing scene – I suppose I’ll keep saying that until I get another year under my wings – I haven’t had the experience of a really negative review. I have read reviews that didn’t gush over my literary genius and pointed out things I could learn from, which I wouldn’t be aware of if I totally ignored all reviews.

It’s also as you mentioned in this post. I don’t fall head over heels in love with every story I read. Even though I’d love for every person in the world to drop what their doing, get my story and love it, that is not reality. I have to understand that and keep it moving, taking what I can learn from some reviews.

Great post, India. I have been fortunate with my reviews, however, the one ‘negative’ was from someone who didn’t read the book. Had I made a comment, I know it would have shown me in bad light, so I left it alone. I read books, I love some, and do not enjoy others. Readers have that right, and I have to accept whatever comes my way.

I think the most frustrating negative comments are the ones that either aren’t true or are somehow based on misunderstanding or in your case, not even about the book! You made the right call though…even though it’s sometimes tough to do!

I started out writing magazine articles, and I think that was a good training ground because people will write letters to the editor if they love or hate what you’ve written. On the same article, I’ve received feedback from a reader who applauded my objective and fair-handed treatment of a subject and feedback from a reader who questioned my moral character and ability to distinguish right from wrong. This taught me how subjective opinions can be. As I’m heading into publishing my own books, that’s what I’ll be keeping in mind–opinions are subjective.

Sage advice from those who are there, and who’ve been there. I humbly add mine: readers are the reason we seek publication. What they say, good, bad, or indifferent, matters. The reasons we write, however, are so much closer to a writer’s ego; thus, a “negative” review hurts. If we’re in charge of our ego, then we can move on, and we can channel what we learn into making our next artistic creation even more gratifying to readers–and to ourselves.

It does seem that in the sense I’m interpreting you comment (pardon if I’ve misinterpreted), for those who write fiction, a bad review might actually help, since when we write, if all we know is approval and acceptance, we might not understand how to write a character who isn’t always accepted. I know for me, it’s difficult to write about an emotion I’ve never felt, but those I have felt both negative and positive I can recall later and hope that the experience gives my characters more depth.

When I first started in this business I took the negative reviews a bit hard, but I’ve toughened up a lot over the past few years. I have to say I’ve learned from some of my earlier reviews and used some of the comments to help improve my writing. Wine and chocolate also help a lot

I did have an out of the ordinary incidence with a negative review recently. The reviewer gave one of my new audio books a 2star because it “wasn’t to her liking” .

Usually I would ignore it, but in this instance it was the 1st and only review for the book that was newly released. I had been selling 4-5 a day up to that point, but then sales stopped immediately. I checked the reviewer’s other reviews and they were ALL 1 & 2 stars. Because this was directly affecting my sales, I did ask my fans who had already e-mailed me or posted on my fb page that they had enjoyed it, if they would post a rewiew, which a couple did. It brought my rating up to 4.5 stars and sales started again almost straight away.

Unfortunately, readers/listeners have no idea that their comments can directly affect the author’s livelihood. Just because it’s not to their liking doesn’t mean it won’t be to someone else’s. But when you’re scrolling through the thumbnails, looking for books, how likely are you to take a second look at one that only has 2 stars? I’d understand if someone was complaining about bad grammar etc.

I admit I have only asked my readers to help just that once. Like I said before, wine and chocolate helps a lot

I don’t really think there’s anything wrong with asking for reviews from people who have read and enjoyed your work. (okay maybe not your mom, but legit readers? why not?) Sometimes if I get notes from readers, especially right after a release when a book has fewer reviews, I’ll write and ask if they’ll say the same thing they just said in their ‘fan letter’ on the store where they bought the book. Usually if people are happy enough about the experience to take the time to write to me, they’re enthusiastic enough to want to write a review. I think most of the time, people just don’t think to do it.

In the sense that at the end of the if you publish, you are working for your readers, I don’t think it’s amiss to occasionally admit that you need help. That you have readers who were willing to step in says that you’re doing your job as a writer.

You’re very welcome. Thanks for taking the time to comment! =) It’s great to have such an open attitude and be wanting to learn and improve your craft. It’s not always fun to get criticism in a public forum like reviews, but you’re right, if we can learn something from it, it makes it worthwhile.

Welcome to the team, India! So happy you’ve joined us.
And thanks for another wonderful post! Your advice is spot on. It’s so true that we really can’t deny the sting of negative reviews. One therapeutic technique I like is the scream into a pillow method. And I totally agree with the never respond policy. My latest challenge was a reviewer who criticized my self-published editing. She apparently did not notice that the book was originally published — and edited — by Berkley-Penguin. Proud to say I kept my itchy-to-respond-fingers in check.

Great post, India (love your name, by the way!). When I got the rights back to some of my traditionally published books, the first thing I did was seek out all of the reviews I had gotten for those books to see what people *didn’t* like, and then edited them using those reviews as guides as to what I needed to work on. Hopefully, the books I’m re-releasing will be better all because of those reviews!
Better to take bad reviews as something positive than to cry over them (which is what I think I did the first time I saw them).

Wonderful post. It’s not easy, especially when we’re raw and new and terrified. Even when we become ‘hardened’ *cough* it’s still not easy if we’ve inadvertently irritated someone who then kicks off. As for reviews, well that’s the breaks. We must go forth in spite of the trolls and just keep going.

There have been times when it’s been very hard to walk away from the keyboard. *Very hard* But the gang bang collective intellect is alive and well online and it is not pretty. For the person who’s targeted is can be life changing, so the rule is do unto others as you would have them do to you. And always remember kindness is a blessing. And never, ever, comment if you’ve more than a couple of glasses of wine under your belt – walk away from the keyboard.

You’re so right… sometimes it’s scary thinking how many times an innocent comment has sparked someone who is spoiling for an online fight. You sound like you have a good handle on how to deal with it. The golden rule is always a good one to keep in mind. =) Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

What a wonderful post! I was blessed to have an author friend who told me BEFORE I published my first book, to basically be aware – some people won’t like my story – but so many more will. And I try to keep that in mind whenever I read my reviews.

Way back at the beginning of my e-journey as a newbie clueless writer, I responded to a critical review. It wasn’t even negative and the reader had some constructive things to say. Fortunately the first sentence I wrote was a “thank you.”
Anyway, over the life of that book my REPLY to the review was deemed the most popular and it the very first review everyone sees on the site. It’s still embarrassing to read it.

Ouch. That’s too bad that you still feel embarrassed by it, but it could have been much worse. Good thing you said thank you! I’ve always said that’s the only thing an author SHOULD say to a reviewer, if they must say anything at all!

Great post India, and thanks much for the shout-out for my blogpost on Social Media gang behavior. It’s scary and needs to be addressed, but I hear Amazon is now rolling out a new system for reporting abuse that will allow readers to report gang attacks of one-star reviews that attack the author, rather than comment on the book.

This type of review does as much damage to Amazon as it does to the author: “I give this book one-star and I’d never read it because the author is a skank who stole my cousin’s boyfriend in high school.”

But negative reviews can be cruel and you’re absolutely right that they still hurt even if they’re legit.

Alison Pensy has a great suggestion above: look at the reviewer’s other reviews. If they’re all 1 and 2 star, this is just a negative person who loves spreading a little gloom around. If they only give 5-stars to Christian inspirational books, and you write erotic urban fantasy, the review probably has more to do with their guilt at reading the book than your skills in writing it.

I hope everyone clicks over and reads your full article, Anne. It was such good advice for how to deal with mobs–and how to not be a part of one. I’ve got it bookmarked and will continue to refer people to it!

I hadn’t heard that about Amazon’s planned changes. Most of us rely so heavily on Amazon for our income (even if we do sell in other outlets), that it would be nice to know there would be some protection against malicious mischief.

Great advice here, thanks! I received a 3 star on one of my non-fiction books with some harsh criticism that displayed the reader’s lack of understanding of the subject, and I obsessed about it with steam coming out my ears!
Fortunately I have learned long since to never write anything on the internet until I’ve cooled down, and I’m so pleased for that wisdom – sending back a snappy, un-thought-through retort will only get a person into trouble.
Now I’m cool about the whole thing, I’ve realised that ignoring it is the best tactic, and while I’d love to correct that person’s understanding, I get the impression from her language that its one of those sticking points we’d never agree upon, so not worth my time or effort.
Look forward to more posts from you, India.
PS, what little village at the base of the Highlands would that be? I’m on the Black Isle, just above Inverness.

For the most part I avoid reading reviews. I am extremely thin skinned, and even mild criticism stings a lot. So I’ll skim over the average number of stars I have on Amazon or Goodreads once in a while and focus on my next books. The email I got from one read about how my book made a huge difference in his life means more to me than all the reviews anyway. (Though I did write back and ask if he’d be willing to leave a review so others could see how great he thought the book was

Follow us on Twitter

D.D. Scott

D. D. Scott is an Amazon Top 100 Bestselling Humor Author and a four-time Amazon Movers and Shakers List Author. She’s also a Writer’s Go-To-Gal for Muse Therapy and Indie Epublishing, the Co-Founder of The WG2E - The Writer’s Guide to E-Publishing, and the Founder of The RG2E – The Reader’s Guide to E-publishing. Visit her website at D.D. Scott-ville. [Read More…]

Talli Roland

When I'm not slurping coffee or wine, I write humorous romantic fiction. THE HATING GAME and WATCHING WILLOW WATTS are available now; BUILD A MAN will be released in Dec 2011. I'm also the author of the 24 HOURS travel guides under the name Marsha Moore. [Read More…]

Gordon Kirkland

Gordon Kirkland has been called ‘one of North America’s premier humorists.’ BookExpo-America named him one of the 7 Book Industry Characters in 2007. He has received the Leacock Award of Merit for three of his eight books. He is a frequent speaker and workshop leader at writers’ conferences, festivals and university programs in Canada and the United States. He was a member of the cast of the 3-Day Novel television series, which aired on BookTelevision in the Fall of 2009. He lives in near Vancouver, British Columbia. Visit the Gordon Kirkland website at www.gordonkirkland.com.

Gemma Halliday

Gemma Halliday is the award winning author of the High Heels mysteries, as well as several other mystery series for both adults and
teens/tweens. She’s successfully written for traditional NYpublishing houses, as well as topped the Amazon and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists with her indie published works. Her books have been translated into several languages, sold in more than a dozen countries, and have been option for a cable television series. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she is constantly fighting her addiction to Starbucks lattes. You can find her online at: www.gemmahalliday.com [Read More…]

LIKE us on Facebook

Theresa Ragan

After writing for nearly 20 years, Theresa Ragan decided to self-publish and sold over 250,000 books in her first year as an indie author. She has been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, the LA Times, PC Magazine, Jeff Bezos’ annual letter to shareholders and Publishers Weekly. She will be speaking on a panel at the BEA in New York in June, 2012, and has recently signed her first publishing agreement with Thomas & Mercer, an Amazon imprint. [Read More…]

Bufo Calvin

Bufo Calvin's ILMK (I Love My Kindle) blog is one of the most popular blogs of any kind in the Amazon Kindle store. Bufo's sixth title in the Kindle store, Love Your Kindle Fire: The ILMK Guide to Amazon's Entertablet, has been a number one bestseller. With a background in technology going back to the punch card days, and being an inveterate book lover and former bookstore manager, writing about the Kindle (and e-publishing) was a natural fit. Bufo loves answering questions, and is an active member of the Kindle community.

Bob Mayer

Bob Mayer is the NY Times Bestselling author of factual thrillers. He steeps his stories in military, historical and scientific facts, then weaves those facts through fiction creating an exciting ride for the reader. He’s a West Point graduate, former Green Beret, and author of more than 50 books all available in eBook that have sold over 4 million copies. He’s been on bestseller lists in thriller, science fiction, suspense, action, war, historical fiction and is the only male author on the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll. [Read More…]

Ruth Harris

New York Times bestselling author Ruth Harris has sold many millions of copies around the world in hardcover and paperback editions. Her fiction has been translated into 19 languages, published in 25 countries and selected by the Literary Guild and Book-of-the-Month Club. Ms. Harris worked in traditional print publishing as a copywriter, editor and publisher before turning to the exciting new opportunities in electronic publishing. She lives in New York City with her husband, writer Michael Harris, the author of Always On Sunday and The Atomic Times: My H-Bomb Year at the Pacific Proving Ground, both available in Kindle editions.

Sibel Hodge

Sibel Hodge has dual British/Turkish Cypriot nationality, dividing her time between Hertfordshire and North Cyprus. She is a qualified personal trainer, sports and massage therapist, and writes freelance feature articles on health, fitness, and various lifetyle subjects. Prior to this, she also worked for Hertfordshire Constabulary for ten years.

Lois Lavrisa

Lois Lavrisa writes Mystery with a Twist. Her first mystery, LIQUID LIES, will debut in early 2012. She’s now working on a cozy mystery series, THE CHUBBY CHICKS CLUB, featuring a bunch of super sassy southern sleuths. She’s a member of: Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Romance Writers of America (RWA), Sisters in Crime (SIC) and the Savannah Pen & Ink writers group. She’s written for a local newspaper, a magazine and several newsletters. Additionally, Lois has worked as an adjunct instructor at Armstrong Atlantic State University. She’s been married to her aerospace husband Tom for over 21 years and they have four children-two boys and two girls.[Read More…]

Alicia Street

Alicia Street writes across genres of romance/women’s fiction, historical/paranormal and mystery. In addition to being part of the Indie authors’ movement, she has been traditionally published. She often writes in collaboration with her husband Roy, and together they won a Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense for their rom-com mystery APHRODISIAC. Romance Junkies called them “. . . a husband and wife writing team that has managed to capture the best in both men’s and women’s fiction.” Their latest collaboration is romantic comedy/contemporary romance, KISS ME, DANCER, Book #1 of the Dance ‘n’ Luv series. Alicia spent many years as a dancer, choreographer and teacher. She is a compulsive reader of every genre. She also loves watching old black-and-white movies and inventing new recipes for organic soups. You can visit her at http://aliciastreet-roystreet.com[Read More…]